Chapter 4: Deceptions (Part 2)

Tan Laoxi said, “What’s so strange about this? In secret realms, especially in areas like this, it’s common to attack strangers. Unless you know each other and have a good relationship, the only option is… kill!”
Guo Shier smiled bitterly. “We’ve been lured away by others. Well, let’s take a short rest.”
…
Hu Feng cursed in fury, “You old freak! I’m not done with you…” Indeed, he wasn’t done with that old freak, but the mutated mammoth in front of them wouldn’t let him go either.
The mutated mammoth was unstoppable; in the blink of an eye, it wiped out Hu Feng’s team entirely. They didn’t even get a chance to fight back before being torn to pieces. Not a single person escaped, not even Xu Cheng, who was ready to do anything to survive.
The Three Brothers of Wild Wind ran desperately, while Lao Xie kept asking, “What the hell is that? Such a huge thing?” Lao Du, held under his arm, was dizzy. Lao Xie moved so fast that Lao Du felt like vomiting.
The old freak caught up from behind and said, “Hehe, with those idiots… we can buy some time. That’s enough for us to leave.”
Lao Xie said, “We’re out of the forest…”
Ahead was a vast expanse of grassland with only a few small trees. Lao Xie set down Lao Du and said, “Okay, we can’t stay long. Lao Du, let me carry you…”
Lao Du stared at Lao Xie blankly, saying nothing. Surprised, Lao Xie quickly supported his shoulders and asked, “Lao Du, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Lao Du opened his mouth and spat everything onto Lao Xie’s chest. He coughed repeatedly, “Cough! Ugh, it hurts… I’m dying from the shaking…”
Lao Xie looked at his chest in silence for a while before saying, “You… Ugh, forget it. Let’s go!” He carried Lao Du on his back and ran again.
The old freak laughed heartily as he chased after them, saying, “If it weren’t for our cleverness, we’d be in big trouble this time.”
Boom!
The mutated mammoth appeared at the edge of the forest. Lao Du’s face paled as he said, “So fast! That thing is terrifying! Hu Feng… those idiots couldn’t buy even a little time. They died way too quickly! Run, run… This is fatal.”
The mutated mammoth was also in a tough spot; it hated its enemies who ambushed it. But it had chosen the wrong target. It focused on the three guys ahead and chased after them.
The Three Brothers of Wild Wind ran like desperate rabbits, using all their strength. Not far ahead, they heard Lao Feng scream, “Damn it…”

Ahead was a giant mutated talisman snake, its upper body raised high, with a pair of dark green snake eyes staring at them coldly. Even though all three of them were masters, they couldn’t help but tremble with fear. Lao Du shouted, “Split up and run!” Lao Xie and Lao Guai immediately scattered in different directions. The mutated mammoth also saw the coiled mutated talisman snake; it slowed down, instinctively realizing that the creature ahead was not to be trifled with. Hiss! Hiss! The mutated talisman snake let out threatening hisses. Roar! The mutated mammoth also roared, trying to intimidate its opponent. It no longer cared about chasing after the Three Brothers of the Gale. Lao Xie carried Lao Du on his back and quickly returned to the edge of the forest. As soon as he rushed into the forest, he was confronted by two talisman knives. With a wry smile, he recognized his opponents—they were all from Luo Jie’s team, including a child who was smiling at them. Lao Xie set down Lao Du and asked, “What do you want?” Guo Shier smiled and said, “Tell us… why did you attack us?” Lao Xie deceitfully replied, “We didn’t start it, and we didn’t even know it was you.” He knew Hu Feng and the others must have died, so he spoke calmly. No one could prove that they had targeted Luo Jie’s team; they had simply been wiped out by the mutated mammoth before they could figure out what was going on. Recalling the scene, Guo Shier realized it certainly didn’t seem like a deliberate ambush. If it had been, Qi Nanshan wouldn’t have detected them so easily, and the attackers’ moves also lacked coordination. After pondering for a moment, he asked, “How did you end up here?” Lao Du said, “We took the wrong path.” Guo Shier wasn’t convinced but saw no problem, so he asked, “Hmm, where are the others?” Lao Xie looked sad and said, “They were killed by that giant… Only the three of us escaped.” Guo Shier had served in the army in his past life and knew well about various underhanded tactics. Hearing this, he was shocked and said, “All killed? Only the three of you escaped? Heh, what a clever move.” As soon as these words were spoken, Eagle Demon was the first to realize it, followed by Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan; the others were still confused. Luo Jie shook his head and said, “Whoever cooperates with you… will be unlucky.” Although he didn’t know the details, he knew these three definitely hadn’t participated in the battle but had turned and run. Lao Xie said proudly, “If we went up there and fought to the death, that would be true misfortune.”

Guo Shier didn’t know they were here to take advantage of Luo Jie’s team. If he had known, he would never have let them go. But now he was in a dilemma, as the Three Brothers of the Wild Wind never dared to fight them. He looked at Luo Jie, unsure of how to deal with these two.

Luo Jie said, “Forget it. Go away! Remember, don’t follow us!”

Lao Du gave him a signal, and Lao Xie picked him up, saying, “Okay! We won’t follow… Goodbye!” He ran into the dense forest with Lao Du on his back, turned around, and ran in another direction—Lao Guai was still there. They wouldn’t leave until they found him.

The two mutated talisman beasts were still facing off, both wary of each other. The talisman beasts in their respective territories rarely fought; clearly, this time it was the mutated mammoth that had crossed boundaries and was injured, making it prone to anger.

That huge mutated talisman snake was as thick as a small water tank, with scales the size of a palm, colorful and beautiful. It had a huge triangular head and dark green eyes that exuded a sinister aura. Its entire body coiled like a small mountain, staring intently at the mutated mammoth.

The mutated mammoth was in a poor state, with many wounds and a strong smell of blood, which attracted the mutated talisman snake.

Guo Shier and the others watched the two mutated talisman beasts, hoping they would fight so they could take advantage of the situation.

Everyone held their breath nervously. Tan Laoxi muttered, “Fight! Damn it, why aren’t they fighting… Weren’t you chasing us fiercely? What’s the problem now? Fight…”

But the two mutated talisman beasts refused to fight, and the mutated mammoth even took a step back. The giant mutated talisman snake swayed its triangular head slightly; it didn’t attack either, only keeping hissing.

The mutated mammoth took another step back.

Guo Shier said, “Bad news. The mammoth is running away!”

Luo Jie narrowed his eyes and shook his head slightly, saying, “There’s nothing we can do.”

Guo Shier smiled bitterly. “Sigh, indeed, there’s nothing we can do… No one can go up there, nor dare to… What a pity about such a good opportunity.” He now understood that even if the mutated mammoth was severely injured, they couldn’t kill it. Its strength was too formidable; even several masters combined couldn’t deal with it.

No wonder mutated talisman beasts were so valuable. Under normal circumstances, with their abilities, they couldn’t handle them at all. Last time in the secret realm, it was sheer luck they managed to kill a mutated earth dragon.

Qi Nanshan suddenly raised his head and asked in surprise, “What’s that thing?”

A distinct red shadow moved slowly across the sky. Guo Shier knew that what seemed slow when observed from below must be quite fast in the air. He said, “Is it a bird? Could it be a mutated talisman bird?”
Luo Jie replied, “We need to stay hidden. If it’s a mutated talisman bird, things will get tricky. We must not let it spot us… Hey! It’s coming over…”
The red shadow traced a beautiful arc in the sky, flying toward them.
Guo Shier’s soul suddenly felt a surge of panic, as if he were being hunted by some fierce beast, causing his whole body to stiffen. Luo Jie and Qi Nanshan felt the same way, their expressions changing. The others didn’t notice anything. Tan Laoxi even said, “What the hell is that? Ugh, I hope it’s a mutated talisman bird. Damn it, I hope those three start fighting—then I can take advantage!”
In just over ten seconds, the red shadow became clearer. Guo Shier, with his sharp eyes, exclaimed, “It’s a human! Damn it, can humans fly?” Last time in the Tongyou Secret Realm, they had seen flying hunting vehicles, but never humans who could fly.
It was a person dressed in red. Due to the distance, it was hard to tell what they looked like or whether they were male or female. The person circled in the air once, seemingly observing the two mutated talisman beasts below, then turned to look at Luo Jie’s group.
Guo Shier said with a wry smile, “We’ve been discovered… Who is this person?”
The person seemed to lose interest in the mutated talisman beasts below and flew toward Luo Jie and the others, landing in front of them soon after.
The person had a young-looking face but was covered in white hair. They wore a purplish-red robe, extremely luxurious, with a golden belt around their waist. They scanned the group once before fixing their gaze on Guo Shier.
Guo Shier felt chilled under their stare. He asked, “Uncle, do you need something?”
No one dared to underestimate someone who could fly.
The person had thick eyebrows, black as swords, contrasting sharply with their snow-white hair. Their black pupils held a sharp edge. Guo Shier thought he saw talisman patterns flashing in their gaze.
The person asked, “What’s your name?”
Guo Shier replied, “I’m Guo Shier.” Then, without backing down, he asked, “And what’s your surname, uncle?”
The person’s serious expression softened slightly as they said, “My surname is Ku, Ku Mu.”
Guo Shier had a bad feeling, so he spoke carefully. He said, “Hello, Uncle Ku Mu.”
Ku Mu nodded and asked, “What are you doing here?”

Guo Shier replied first, “We’re hunting.” He couldn’t let his master speak; he was just a child, and it didn’t matter much if he asked the wrong question. This man had arrived in such a strange way and seemed extremely powerful, so he took the initiative to handle the conversation.

Kumu said, “Hunting? Then why are you hiding here? I saw two mutated talisman beasts—well, they should be level four mutated talisman beasts… No, that mutated mammoth is probably almost at level five… Why aren’t you fighting them?”

Guo Shier was speechless for a moment.

Tan Laoxi whispered, “You better try it, you bastard.”

Kumu’s gaze pierced Tan Laoxi like a knife. Guo Shier cursed inwardly, “This jerk… I shouldn’t have brought him here…”